The Best Law Schools in Utah: By representing their clients in court proceedings and making arguments on their behalf, lawyers serve as advocates for their clients. They also offer legal rights advice to people. Being a lawyer offers high job security and the possibility to favorably influence a lot of people because the legal system has an impact on almost every element of society.
Students must complete four years of undergraduate studies and three years of law school in order to become attorneys. Graduates from a demanding program will be ready to pass the bar exam and start working as attorneys. This is achieved through education that fosters the development of communication, research, and critical thinking abilities in addition to legal knowledge. Many law schools also offer clinical or externship programs where students can practice their legal skills while being supervised by an attorney with expertise.
With over 7,000 licensed attorneys spread all across the state, Utah is a fantastic destination to practice and study law. A wide range of disciplines, including as family law, property law, immigration law, and intellectual property law, are the focus of practicing attorneys. There are nine different bar associations in the state as a result of the many counties and practice areas. In Utah, a lawyer’s annual pay is on average $97,000.
Best Law Schools in Utah
Despite the fact that Utah only has two law schools, each of them is nationally renowned for the resources and excellent education it offers to its students. Based on where they were ranked by US News, these are the top law schools in Utah:
2. University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law (Salt Lake City, UT)
One of the top 20 public law schools in the country is the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. This accolade is a testament to the caliber of the school’s staff, as well as its success in placing graduates in good jobs. Furthermore, the University of Utah is a pioneer in specialized fields of study like criminal law, health law, and environmental law.
One of the top ten environmental and natural resources law programs in the country is offered by S.J. Quinney. The faculty at the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources, and the Environment are committed to forming environmental policy and work with law students. The center is committed to educating the public and fostering knowledge of today’s most pressing environmental concerns. The Stegner Center also sponsors workshops, a practical skills curriculum, open forums, speakers, and other activities that inspire the neighborhood to live sustainably.
The University of Utah has the third-lowest student to professor ratio in the US for law students. The school is only behind Yale and Stanford with a ratio of 7:3:1. According to the institution, learning is facilitated by small courses, attentive teaching, and an active learning approach in the correct atmosphere. Every student has access to the tools they need to do their best work thanks to the individualized education, which ensures that nobody gets lost in the crowd.
Law students at the College of Law can interact with the knowledgeable faculty because to the low student-to-faculty ratio. Some of the top legal scholars in the country across a wide range of specializations are among the 38 full-time faculty members. They have provided testimony to Congress, argued before the Supreme Court, and created regulations and policies that have an impact on the law. Professors have extensive experience working as practicing attorneys in government, nonprofit, and law firms. Their commitment to teaching law students at the University of Utah demonstrates their knowledge.
The College of Law’s new $62.5 million law building demonstrates the institution’s growing trend. The new building has received LEED Platinum certification, making it the first law school on the west coast to do so. Using clever design and deliberate sun orientation, the building was intended to save energy expenses by 65%. The new structure also includes a moot courtroom, secured access study spaces, and a cafe.
A legal library integrated with the law building is devoted to the College of Law’s teaching, research, and service missions. It serves as a legal information repository for the institution and the larger legal community as the largest public library in the state. The library’s fundamental legal research course offers law students the chance to pick up new skills. The library and the law building both support new clinical programs, hands-on learning, group research, and community involvement.
The S.J. Quinney pro bono project is a volunteer program that enables students to gain problem-solving skills while giving back to the community. Over the course of their time in law school, students are urged to donate at least 50 hours to charity. Law students can participate in a variety of clinics, including those for expungement, family law, street law, and community legal sites. They collaborate with active attorneys to offer access to justice to people who lack it. University of Utah alums are urged to volunteer, connect with, and mentor present-day law students. S.J. Quinney students gave their community about 40,000 hours of pro bono and volunteer service in 2015.
At the University of Utah, personalized instruction, world-class faculty and programs, and opportunities for practical learning produce outstanding employment results. 79% of graduates were employed in positions requiring bar passage in 2019. They were employed in a range of sectors, including law firms, business, the government, nonprofit organizations, and education. Four graduates worked as Supreme Court Justices’ clerks after being selected for prestigious clerkships alongside other alumni.
Also Read: Free accredited high school diploma online no cost 2023
1. Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School (Provo, UT)
The J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University is renowned for its affordability. The National Jurist ranks it as the best value private law school and SoFi ranks it as the best return on investment for a law school. BYU Law has the lowest median federal debt of any law school in the nation, at just over $50,000, according to the US Department of Education. In 2020, about one-third of students obtained debt-free university degrees.
The impressive bar passage rate of BYU Law graduates can be attributed to the high quality of their education. In 2020, 95.5% of first-time test takers passed the bar exam, beating the national average of 78.3%. The candidate pool for BYU Law is becoming more competitive every year as a result of the school’s historically high bar passage rates. The Class of 2023’s new arrivals hail from 17 nations and 39 states. Accepted candidates had remarkable LSAT scores of 166 and GPAs of 3.8.
Law students have several opportunities to apply their legal knowledge outside of the classroom, including externships and student organizations. The externship program is meant to give students in-office practical experiences so they may apply their classroom learning. The program is one of the largest externship programs accessible and has one of the highest student participation rates (81%). 25 1L law students visited more than 19 nations during the summer of 2019 to obtain practical experience in international law.
Law students performed 170 externships and clinical alliance assignments in 2020 in fields like international, judicial, legislative, governmental, and public interest law. The Criminal Prosecution and Defense Clinical Alliance is the most well-liked option, whereby law students collaborate with an attorney or public defender office to actively counsel and represent real clients. Judicial, Government Practice, and Corporate Counsel are some other clinical alliances.
Through the 35+ student organizations at BYU, law students can further explore a range of interests and backgrounds. These groups are great for meeting people and gaining valuable legal knowledge. The trial advocacy team, which is renowned nationally for excellence in the field, tenacity, and success, is a well-liked choice. The team helps students become better litigators by providing them with constructive criticism, mentoring, and monthly training sessions from practicing lawyers. The team has numerous opportunities to put their training to use as they compete in both intra-school and national competitions.
The Tournament of Champions, an invitation-only event that attracts elite law students from 16 major trial advocacy law schools, asked the BYU team to compete in 2020.
The BYU Education and Law Journal, the BYU Journal of Public Law, and the BYU Law Review are just a few of the law school’s well-known publications. Each publication contains thousands of downloads and hundreds of papers from legal academics all over the world. The Law Review’s goal is to publish publications in the field of law for judges, practitioners, and academics to use. Editing papers, submitting comments, and doing other tasks help law students contribute to publication. Members enhance their capacity to understand legal issues and acquire intensive legal writing skills. Law students also have the chance to support the legal system’s systematic advancement.
The school has produced a number of well-known alumni in a variety of fields as a result of its renowned legal education. During his legal career, James W. Parkinson, a well-known attorney, published a book and made a documentary. John Valentine, a well-known BYU alumnus in politics, presided over the Utah State Senate from 2005 to 2008. He also served as Utah’s senator for more than ten years. State and federal judges, politicians, university deans, and business executives are among the other alumni. The BYU alumni network is an active group that keeps supporting, interacting with, and contributing to the legal community.
Frequently Asked Questions
In Utah, how many law schools are there?
In Utah, there are two law schools.
Which law school in Utah is the best?
The only colleges in the state having law schools are Brigham Young University (BYU) and the University of Utah (UU). According to U.S. News and World Report, both are nationally ranked and have strong claims to the title of "Best in the West."
Is a 3.5 GPA sufficient to get into law school?
What GPA is required to enter law school? With an undergraduate GPA of 3.49 or less, virtually few legal schools and institutions consider prospective student candidates. A GPA of 3.85 or above is required by the majority of elite law schools.
In Utah, how much does a lawyer cost?
What is a Utah lawyer's hourly rate? In Utah, a lawyer's hourly charge typically ranges from $190 to $354.
TOP PICKS FOR YOU:
English 
العربية 
Deutsch 
हिन्दी 
简体中文 